DOCSLIB.ORG

Press Review – April 2014

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Press Review – April 2014 CfSC Press Review – April 2014 C F S C P R E APRIL S 2014 S News clippings with analysis From the R Major newspapers E in Malawi V Compiled by the Centre for Social Concern I (CFSC) Box 40049 Lilongwe 4 E Area 25 W Next to St. Francis Parish Tel: 01 715 632 www.cfscmalawi.org LIST OF NEWSPAPERS REVIEWED CFSC Press Review – April 2014 Daily Times The Weekend Nation The Sunday Times Malawi News The Guardian Nation on Sunday The Nation CFSC Press Review – April 2014 PREVIEW All is set for the 2014 first ever tripartite elections. For the first time Malawians are choosing a president, Member of Parliament and a Councillor in one election. There are so many questions that have been asked about this scenario having been without councillors for more than ten years. Is Malawi ready for such an election? Is the Malawi Electoral Commission prepared enough for this day. Politicians have done their part to sell themselves to the electorate and the onus remains on the voters to make their choices. Having gone through number elections in the past Malawians have the key to who will be the number one citizen at State House and who will represent them in the National Assembly and who will be their councillor. On the economy news that there might be no budgetary support is not good news at all. Much as Malawi may need to be donor independent, she is not at that level yet. It therefore spells doom for a nation that has been relying on budgetary support for fifty year not to have it in the next financial year. Food security reports are very impressive with prices of maize going down each passing day as now farmers are harvesting. But the challenge remains how long will maize be available on the markets and how long will be prices be affordable? Another challenge is how will the staple grain be guarded from post harvest losses? Finally labour officers can afford a smile with the news that Malawi has improved on the child labour fight. It has been an issue as estate owners and many more employers prefer to employ children because they are cheap. An international report showing there is an improvement in child labour fight is a morale booster to Malawi to do more on this. The health sector is still sailing in troubled waters at least going by what the media reports have portrayed in the month under review. The drug shortage is hitting hard especially in the referral hospitals with some doctors contributing their own money to buy medication for the patients. It does not get worse than this! It surely requires an urgent solution. CFSC Press Review – April 2014 POLITICS So the Malawi nation got to see the presidential candidates debating on various issues in the month under review. Just like what happened during the running mates debate all the presidential candidates that availed themselves to the debate were given an equal chance to say something on a number of issues. Missing on the line up during the first presidential debate were the incumbent president Dr Joyce Banda of the People’s Party PP, Democratic Progressive Party’s Peter Mutharika, Thom Mnesa representing the Tisinthe Coalition and Chipani Cha Pfuko Davis Katsonga. As the other eight took turns to market themselves to the electorate, the others chose to stay away. And then Dr Joyce Banda chose to absent herself even at the other two presidential debates ion Lilongwe and Blantyre. As some observers have noted it was the so called small parties that impressed many with the convincing answers they gave to the questions during the presidential debate. It was James Nyondo of the National Salvation Front NASAF, United Independent Party’s Hallen Singh and president of People’s Progressive Movement PPM, Mark Katsonga are among the ones that gave some of the best answers. The observers still feel there is a lot of substance in what each of the participating presidential candidates had to offer. Meanwhile there are worries that Dr Joyce Banda’s decision not to attend these debates only shows that she has nothing to say to the audience and that it was a missed opportunity for her to sell herself and her party. The opinion poll result by an organisation called Research Tech has attracted mixed reactions from many observers in Malawi. While others feel such opinion polls should not be encouraged others are saying this is a positive development and the researchers are free to do as they please. According to experts there is no way such opinion polls should be encouraged because they confuse the electorate some of whom may think of shunning the voting exercise because they feel their candidate of choice has failed to win and may simply see no reason to go ahead and vote. Again there are also fears that the research could be the work of some bogus organisation that is bound to confuse people. All political parties are too busy with campaign as observed by many political campaign stories that have been carried out in the press. There is more travel for almost all the party leaders. This is the time many politicians make promises some of which may leave one wondering if at all they will be met. Malawians have come from a background of more than three elections and therefore should not be taken for granted as the choices they will make now in choosing a president, Member of Parliament and councillor will be stuck with the electorate even after the election. A number of aspiring presidents have vowed to turn around the Malawi economy. At present Malawi seems to have lost a part of the trust that the donor community had. Almost all the candidates are promising to turn things around. There is hope that whoever will be Malawi’s leader after May 20 will put the economy back on the right track. With the presidential hopefuls making so many pledges as of now no one really knows who will make this work. CFSC Press Review – April 2014 One particular pledge is that coming from the Democratic Progressive Party that have vowed to subsidize the prices of cement and iron sheets if they come back to power. One thing is for sure is that Malawi’s presidency has a lot of powers that even those who are around the president are at times too afraid to give sensible advice even when the president is making grave mistakes. It is not only the incumbent president who is guilty of having too much power so that at times she can easily abuse it, but also all her predecessors. Dr Joyce Banda is at liberty to make political podium appointments and statements and they become policies. Such policies have financial implications that in normal circumstances they should have been made with thorough consultations with technical experts, but alas this is not the case. Other political parties have since proposed that Malawi should trim the presidential powers. And these sentiments have been supported by some law experts. Beleaguered Khumbo Kachali in April was rumoured to be joining the opposition Malawi Congress Party MCP but he denied such stories. Kachali, who was a very close ally of president Joyce Banda, vice president of Malawi and the ruling People’s Party got a rude awakening when the later chose young Sosten Gwengwe as her running mate. Since then Kachali has been absenting himself from many presidential functions saying he is concentrating on his parliamentary seat. But those in the know how say Kachali is detaching himself from the party and will eventually leave. CFSC Press Review – April 2014 ECONOMY 2013 is the year that saw the issues of economic governance being dented by reports of the Cashgate scandal and this has spilled into 2014. With a lot of money being stolen at Capital Hill nobody could ever think of saying that there is economic prudence and governance in the government as such scandals have the possibility of ruining the government’s reputation. Not only is Malawi’s fiscal indiscipline questionable to Malawians but also on the international scene. It will therefore take a lot of convincing and drastic changes for government to mend its ways. Already with the campaign for 2014 Tripartite Elections officially on the opposition are suing this using to dampen the chances for the incumbent president. It has been a long time since the Malawi economy has had any positive press coverage. For months the press have carried articles on the economy that do not give hope at all. It does not reflect well on a nation that has been independent for 50 year. If it is not poor prices of tobacco Malawi’s foreign exchange earner, it is the imports cover which is not that impressive at all. Fifty years after independence Malawi still gets almost half of its budget support from the donors. All these issues point out the fact that Malawi is failing to develop and this is bad considering that at this stage Malawi should be financially stable. Already there are stories going around that there is not going to be budgetary support from other countries and donor community. This news raises fears that most of the government’s business will be affected. It will be very difficult to transact business in the next financial year if what is being said is not reversed. As some financial experts have noted, Malawi still needs budgetary support. Efforts to try and have a fully locally funded budget failed in the Bingu wa Mutharika administration and there is little hope if Malawi will succeed this time around with no budgetary support that is if there is going to be none.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • MALAWI COUNTRY of ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service
    MALAWI COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service 31 OCTOBER 2012 MALAWI 31 OCTOBER 2012 Contents Preface Useful news sources for further information Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 1.01 Map ........................................................................................................................ 1.05 2. ECONOMY ................................................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY ................................................................................................................. 3.01 Local government elections ................................................................................ 3.05 Foreign donor aid to Malawi suspended ............................................................ 3.07 Anti-government protests: July 2011 ................................................................. 3.10 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 2012) ......................................... 4.01 5. CONSTITUTION .......................................................................................................... 5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM ................................................................................................... 6.01 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 7.01 8. SECURITY FORCES ...................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • MPHATSO MOSES KAUFULU (Bsoc.Sc., UNIMA; Bsoc.Sc
    USING A DYNAMIC STRUCTURAL APPROACH TO ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP A THEORETICAL SOCIOLOGY OF MALAWI BY MPHATSO MOSES KAUFULU (BSoc.Sc., UNIMA; BSoc.Sc. Hons., UKZN) A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SOCIAL SCIENCE BY FULL DISSERTATION IN SOCIOLOGY IN THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE OF THE COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PMB 2013 Declaration I, Mphatso Moses Kaufulu, declare that 1. The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. 2. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. 3. This thesis does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. 4. This thesis does not contain other persons' writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced b. Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed in italics and inside quotation marks, and referenced. 5. This thesis does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the thesis and in the References sections. _______________________________ _______________________________ Name of Candidate Name of Supervisor _______________________________ _______________________________ Signature Signature _______________________________ _______________________________ Date Date i Dedication To my late father and mother, Dr and Mrs Kaufulu. To my sister, Mrs Chisomo Kaufulu-Kumwenda, and her newly born son Jedidiah Joshua (JJ).
    [Show full text]
  • (Civil Registry) Judicial Review Cause No. 34 of 2020 Between
    Malawi Congress Party v. President of the Republic of Malawi Kenyatta Nyirenda, J. JUDICIARY IN THE HIGH COURT OF MALAWI LILONGWE DISTRICT REGISTRY (CIVIL REGISTRY) JUDICIAL REVIEW CAUSE NO. 34 OF 2020 BETWEEN: MALAWI CONGRESS PARTY ……………………….………… CLAIMANT AND PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI …...………. DEFENDANT DR. JEAN MATHANGA ……..…..………………. 1ST INTERESTED PARTY MS. LINDA KUNJE ……..…..……………………. 2ND INTERESTED PARTY MR. STEVE DUWA ……..…..……………...……. 3RD INTERESTED PARTY MR. ARTHUR NANTHURU ……..…...…………. 4TH INTERESTED PARTY CORAM: THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE KENYATTA NYIRENDA Messrs. Likongwe, Chitukula, Mhone and Ndalama, Counsel for the Claimant Mr. Chakaka Nyirenda, Counsel for the Defendant Mr. Nkhutabasa, Counsel for the 1st and 2nd Interested Parties Mr. Chembezi, Counsel for the 3rd and 4th Interested Parties Mrs. D. Mtaya, Court Reporter Mr. Henry Kachingwe, Court Clerk JUDGEMENT Kenyatta Nyirenda, J. Introduction 1. This is my judgement on an application for judicial review brought by the Claimant under Order 19, rules 20(1) and 23, of the Courts (High Court) (Civil 1 Malawi Congress Party v. President of the Republic of Malawi Kenyatta Nyirenda, J. Procedure) Rules [Hereinafter referred to as the “CPR”]. 2. The Claimant is a political party. The Defendant is the President of the Republic of Malawi. This is a constitutional office established by section 78 of the Constitution. It has to be mentioned that the holders of the office of the Defendant have changed in the course of this case being prosecuted in this Court. All the Interested Parties are currently serving as members of the Electoral Commission (Commission). The Commission is a creature of section 75 of the Commission. 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Malawi: Recent Developments and U.S
    Malawi: Recent Developments and U.S. Relations Nicolas Cook Specialist in African Affairs December 11, 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R42856 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Malawi: Recent Developments and U.S. Relations Summary President Barack Obama’s Administration and a number of Members of Congress have welcomed Malawian President Joyce Banda’s accession to power, largely because she has reversed a number of contentious decisions taken by her predecessor, Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in early April 2012 while serving a contentious second term. Banda’s status as Africa’s second female president, an internationally recognized women’s rights advocate, and a leader with personal socioeconomic development expertise has also drawn U.S. and other international support. There are also some indications that Banda may pursue a foreign policy aligned with selected U.S. regional policy goals. In August 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Malawi for discussions of economic and political governance and reform and to highlight bilateral development cooperation projects. In September Banda addressed a gathering of Members of Congress at a forum on U.S.-Malawian and broader U.S.-African relations. Malawi, a former British colony, is a small, poor country in southeastern Africa that underwent a democratic transition from one-party rule in the early 1990s and has long relied on donor aid. Under Mutharika, however, Malawi’s ties with donors had been damaged over concerns related to economic management, undemocratic governance trends, and Mutharika’s acrimonious stance toward donors. Upon taking office, Banda—who had served as Mutharika’s vice president and therefore succeeded him upon his death—made a range of economic and governance reform pledges and related policy decisions.
    [Show full text]
  • Deliberation As an Epistemic Endeavor: Umunthu and Social Change In
    Deliberation as an Epistemic Endeavor: UMunthu and Social Change in Malawi’s Political Ecology A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Fletcher O. M. Ziwoya December 2012 © 2012 Fletcher O. M. Ziwoya All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Deliberation as an Epistemic Endeavor: UMunthu and Social Change in Malawi’s Political Ecology by FLETCHER O. M. ZIWOYA has been approved for the School of Communication Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Claudia L. Hale Professor of Communication Studies Scott Titsworth Interim Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT ZIWOYA, FLETCHER O. M., Ph.D. December 2012, Communication Studies Deliberation as an Epistemic Endeavor: UMunthu and Social Change in Malawi’s Political Ecology Director of Dissertation: Claudia Hale This dissertation examines the epistemic role of democratic processes in Malawi. In this study, I challenge the view that Malawi’s Local Government model of public participation is representative and open to all forms of knowledge production. Through a case study analysis of the political economy of knowledge production of selected District Councils in Malawi, I argue that the consultative approach adopted by the Councils is flawed. The Habermasian approach adopted by the Councils assumes that development processes should be free, fair, and accommodative of open forms of deliberation, consultation, and dissent. The Habermasian ideals stipulate that no single form of reasoning or knowledge dominates others. By advocating for “the power of the better argument” Habermas (1984, 1998a, 1998b, 2001) provided room for adversarial debate which is not encouraged in the Malawi local governance system.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 4 Making, Unmaking and Remaking Political Party Coalitions
    POLITICAL PARTY COALITIONS IN MALAWI 111 4 MAKING, UNMAKING AND REMAKING POLITICAL PARTY COALITIONS IN MALAWI Explaining the Prevalence of Office-Seeking Behaviour DENIS KADIMA AND SAMSON LEMBANI INTRODUCTION The contemporary history of political alliances in Malawi dates back to the early 1990s when Malawian political and social groupings joined forces and succeeded in voting out the 30-year-old one-party regime of Kamuzu Banda in 1994. While a recent unpublished study by Lars Svåsand, Nixon Khembo and Lise Rakner (2004) gives an account of the reconfiguration of Malawi’s party system after the 2004 general elections, there is no chronological and comprehensive account of the main coalitions of political parties in the country, their accomplishments and setbacks and the lessons that can be drawn from their experience. This explains the need for this study as well as the unique contribution that it makes to the field of party coalition politics. The study deals only with alliances made up of political parties. For this reason, the pre-1994 election alliance of various political pressure groups, faith-based organisations and non-governmental organisations, which worked towards the effective introduction of a democratic multiparty system, is not given significant attention. The study devotes equal attention to the history of both governing and opposition coalitions in Malawi. Specifically, it examines the short-lived coalition between the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) after the 1994 general elections; the 1995 alliance between the United Democratic Front (UDF) and AFORD; the alliance forged between the MCP and AFORD prior to the 1999 general elections; the UDF- AFORD-NCD Coalition preceding the 2004 general elections and the 111 112 THE POLITICS OF PARTY COALITIONS IN AFRICA Mgwirizano coalition of 2004.
    [Show full text]
  • Government & Politics Corr
    1 CONCEPTUAL AND CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND Augustine Titani Magolowondo INTRODUCTION This book is about Government and politics in Malawi. The diversity of issues that are discussed in the subsequent chapters bears testimony to the complexity of this subject matter. The aim of this first chapter is twofold. First, as you may have probably experienced in our daily discourse, the terms Government and politics are often confused with other key terms such as state and nation. As a starting point, this chapter clarifies these related concepts, which are inherently connected but yet conceptually distinct. Second, the discussion in this chapter aims at providing the context within which politics and Government in Malawi operate. In this regard, I look at both the political history and key socio-economic characteristics of Malawi. Finally, I discuss challenges facing Malawi’s politics and Government today. WHAT IS POLITICS? The concept of politics is as old as Government itself. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher (384–322 BC) argued that ‘man is by nature a political animal’. What was meant is that politics is not only inevitable but also essential to human activity. In other words, wherever there are human beings, politics is unavoidable. However, much as Aristotle’s maxim has become almost indisputable among the students of politics, there is no consensus on what exactly is to be understood by politics. To appreciate the conceptual complexity of politics, let us consider for instance the 2000 constitutional amendment to Section 65 of the Malawi Constitution (popularly called the ‘crossing of the floor’ provision). This amendment was to result in any member of Parliament (MP) losing his/her seat should he/she join 1 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN MALAWI any organisation whose objectives were deemed to be political in nature.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics, Democracy and Governance in Independent
    POLITICS, DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE IN INDEPENDENT MALAWI: The dichotomy between promises and reality Art of Larisa: Mask from Malawi By WEBSTER SIAME KAMEME A Dissertation submitted to The University of Birmingham in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY Centre of West African Studies School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham January 2011 1 POLITICS, DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE IN INDEPENDENT MALAWI: The dichotomy between promises and reality MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY Dissertation By WEBSTER SIAME KAMEME 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents ……………………………………………………….. 3-6 Acronyms ……………………………………………………………….. 7 Dedication ……………………………………………………………….. 8 Acknowledgements ……………………………………………….. 8 Abstract ……………………………………………………………….. 9 Chapter 1: Introductory ……………………………………………….. 10 1.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………….. 10 1.1 Background information ……………………………………….. 11 1.2 Objectives and Scope of Research ……………………….. 15 1.3 Conclusion ……………………………………………………….. 16 Chapter 2: Review of Literature ……………………………………….. 17 2.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………….. 17 2.1 The Politics of Democracy in Contemporary Malawi ……….. 17 2.2 Parliamentary Politics and Accountability ……………….. 19 2.2.1 Legitimisation ……………………………………….. 19 2.2.2 Political Accountability ……………………………….. 20 2.2.3 Abuse of Political Power ……………………………….. 21 2.3 Parliamentary Democracy ……………………………………….. 22 2.3.1 The will of the people ……………………………….. 23 2.3.2 Authority of Government ……………………………….. 24 2.4 Critical issues of governance in Malawi Parliament ……….. 25 2.4.1 Accountability of Parliament and its Members ……….. 27 2.4.2 The importance of transparency ……………………….. 29 2.4.3 Parliament and the rule of law ……………………….. 30 2.4.4 Participatory Democracy ……………………………….. 31 2.4.5 Consensus ……………………………………………….. 33 2.4.6 A responsive Parliament ……………………………….. 34 2.5 The dichotomy between regime and state ……………….
    [Show full text]
  • Meaning of Umunthu
    MEANING OF UMUNTHU COMMUNITY SPIRIT FOR THE BUILDING OF THE HUMAN COMMUNITY ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE SOCIO –POLITICAL SITUATION OF MALAWI submitted by Mennas Vincent Mukaka for the Academic Degree of Doctor of Theology at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz Institute/Department of Catholic Theology under the Supervision of Prof. Dr. Leopold Neuhold (1. Supervisor) Prof. DDr. Reinhold Easterbauer (2. Supervisor) © 2015 Mennas Vincent Mukaka iii DECLARATION I DECLARE THAT THIS DISSERTATION IS MY OWN WORK AND ALL THE SOURCES HAVE BEEN QUOTED AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY MEANS OF COMPLETE REFERENCES AND NO PART OF THE DISSERTATION HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR ANY OTHER DEGREE. Mennas Vincent Mukaka…………………………………………….. Date:…………………………………………… Place:………………………………………….. iv ACKNOWLEGEMENT “I am because you are, since you are therefore I am”. This thesis is achieved with the assistance of others without whom it could not have been accomplished. There are many people who have contributed to this work and I cannot manage to mention all of them, but all should know and feel that I greatly appreciate their contribution. I would like to acknowledge my deep indebtedness and thanks to the following people in particular: Dr Leopold Neuhold, my doctorate father, and DDr Reinhold Esterbauer, my second supervisor. I have benefited, at different stages of the project, from their contributions and friendly guidance. They are crucially responsible for the actions which led to the completion of this thesis. In addition, this work could not have been completed without the support offered by the Comboni Missionaries of the German Speaking Province (DSP). In particular I thank Mag. Fr. Joseph Altenburger, once my formator in Innsbruck, the then Provincial Superior of the German speaking Province who accepted that I do my studies in Graz.
    [Show full text]
  • Download It From
    IMD Partner in Democracy A NNUAL R EPORT 2005 The IMD – an institute of political parties for political parties The Institute for Multiparty Democracy (IMD) is an institute of political parties for political parties. Its mandate is to encourage the process of democratisation in young democracies by providing support to political parties as the core pillars of multi- party democracy. IMD works in a strictly non-partisan and inclusive manner. Through this approach, the Institute endeavours to contribute to properly functioning, sustainable pluralistic political party systems. It also supports the activities of civil society groups which play a healthy role in multi-party democracies, even though they are not part of any formal party structure. IMD was set up by seven Dutch political parties in 2000 in response to requests for support from around the world. The IMD’s founding members are the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA), Liberal Party (VVD), Christian Democratic Party (CDA), Democratic Party (D66), Green Party (GroenLinks), Christian Union (ChristenUnie) and Reformed Party (SGP). Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy Korte Vijverberg 2 2513 AB The Hague The Netherlands Address per September 1, 2006: Passage 31 2511 AB The Hague The Netherlands T: +31 (0)70 311 5464 F: +31 (0)70 311 5465 E: [email protected] www.nimd.org IMD Partner in Democracy A NNUAL R EPORT 2005 Partners in Democracy Preface Without properly functioning political parties, resulted in a study for the European Parliament entitled democracies do not work well – a fact that is not yet No lasting Peace and Prosperity without Democracy & fully recognised within the international development Human Rights.
    [Show full text]
  • The Malawi Military
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274713580 Civil Military Relations in Malawi - Historical Context and Contemporary Dilemmas Article · January 1997 CITATIONS READS 3 1,314 1 author: Andrew Charman Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation 45 PUBLICATIONS 278 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Informality and urban democracy View project All content following this page was uploaded by Andrew Charman on 10 April 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. 1 CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN MALAWI: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CONTEMPORARY DILEMMAS Note: A version of this paper was prepared for the Centre for Conflict Resolution, University of Cape Town, as a Working Paper (1997). To my knowledge, this working paper was never actually published. AJE Charman1 Unlike most southern African post-colonial military institutions, the Malawi Army had not, prior to entering the Mozambican civil war in 1986, captured much international attention. Since independence in 1964, it had been positioned on the margins within the state security establishment, kept numerically ‘small’ and denied significant investment in training and modern weaponry. By contrast, the ruling Malawi Congress Party’s para- military organisation, the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP), was institutionalised and afforded extra-ordinary powers within the security establishment. From the mid 1980s, the army was moved strategically closer to the centre stage occupied by the MYP and security police. This paper will argue that this shift was initiated partly in response to the changing regional geo-political dynamics after the establishment of the SADCC in 1980, but was also a move by President H K Banda to counteract powerful elements within the ruling party who had launched an internal struggle to succeed his rule.
    [Show full text]
  • European Union Election Observation Mission
    European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report MALAWI 2014 TRIPARTITE ELECTIONS PRESIDENTIAL, PARLIAMENTARY AND LOCAL COUNCIL MALAWI FINAL REPORT TRIPARTITE ELECTIONS PRESIDENTIAL, PARLIAMENTARY AND LOCAL COUNCIL 20 MAY 2014 EUROPEAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION The European Union Election Observation Missions are independent from the European Union Institutions. This report was produced by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Malawi and presents the mission's findings on the 20 May Tripartite Elections. The European Union Institutions do not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this report, and do not accept responsibility for any way in which these may be used. Table of Contents I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 8 II. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 11 III. POLITICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 11 IV. LEGAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................................... 13 A. Universal and Regional Principles and Commitments ............................................................ 13 B. Legal Framework ................................................................................................................. 13 C. The Electoral System
    [Show full text]